Everyone has reasons for not getting a colonoscopy, but none of these reasons outweigh the benefit of taking charge of your health.

A colonoscopy is the gold standard in screening because it can both detect and remove polyps before they can turn into colon cancer – the second leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. In fact, up to 85 percent of colorectal cancers could be prevented if everyone who was eligible for colonoscopy screening actually got screened.